This is Mike Etherington-Smith’s 17th year designing the cross-country course at the Kentucky Horse Park. The most experienced course designer in the world today, he is widely acknowledged as the master of his craft. However, I would not like to be in his shoes this year. He is designing this year’s course to produce an acceptable result. In addition he is designing in preparation for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, and finally he has an eye over his shoulder at his legacy as the best cross-country course designer…ever. That is enough to make any designer nervous, but I think we will find him equal to the task.

I have spoken with Mike several times, and I know that he is keenly interested in providing a level playing field for the WEG. This means he will not build anything this year that we would recognize next year at the WEG. At the same time, I have admired Mike’s work for 20 years now, and I have some insight into his thinking. He rarely builds obstacles for major championships that he has not experimented with in preceding years. I think that a careful analysis of this year’s course can provide us with some useful insights, not just into what difficulties this year’s course presents, but into what we can expect for 2010 as well.

Out Of The Start Box

The course has been reversed for 2009 and proceeds counterclockwise from the start, which is located above the site of the old Lexington bank. Fences 1 and 2 (the Flower Box and Rock Walls), although imposing in size, are gorgeously decorated and should present no problem.

Fences 3 and 4, Mr. and Ms. Mushroom, are narrow logs suspended over a ditch. At lower levels of competition, this question would cause a great deal of trouble. However, these riders are so proficient, and their horses have seen so many narrow jumps, that I expect 99 percent of the field to jump them in stride, at speed. The “buzz” in the stable area is that this year’s course is smaller but trickier than last year. I have to agree with that because 29 out of 45 jumping efforts on this year’s course require accuracy from the horses and riders in order to negotiate them successfully. Numbers 3 and 4 are merely the first of many accuracy questions that the horses and riders will have to deal with.

The course then swings back through the draft horse field and heads east, back toward the main park. The Dray at fence 5 is big, but it has a slightly uphill approach and should present no problem to this field of riders. It says something for the quality of competition when I expect every horse that gets this far to skip over an obstacle 3’11” high and 6’ wide.

Galloping back into the main park, competitors are now presented with the first serious question on the course.  The HSBC Duck Marsh at fence 6ABC is situated on the site of the original Lexington Bank. The fast route involves a tall (3’8”) set of rails at the top of a mound. These rails will present a problem because they are so tall, and the effect of the mound is to block off the horses’ vision of the water until the last split second. In addition, there is quite a precipitous drop behind the rails. The drop is immediately followed by a 90-degree left turn to a narrow, wooden carved duck in the middle of the water. As a general rule, Mike does not use tight distances, however the striding between A and B needs to be five compressed strides rather than four long strides. Landing in the water after 6B, horses and riders must keep their balance and again proceed on a slightly compressed stride out of the water up onto the grassy slope, jumping out over a maximum (4’7”) brush at 6C. The brush is already maximum, and the fact that we are proceeding uphill to it will make it look and ride very big. There is a longer, “black-flag” route, which will take, in my estimation, an extra 10 seconds but is much safer.

Galloping toward the infield, horses and riders must accelerate again after the Duck Marsh and gallop down on a curve to fence 7, the Walnut Tables. I think this will be one of Mike’s signature questions. The questions posed at fences 7-8-9, and late in the course, numbers 26-27-28, will feature in some way in Mike’s 2010 course. Success at these complexes will be determined to a great extent by the riders’ judgment of the correct pace. If they come too fast at 7 (or later on, 26), they run the risk of struggling through the turn and arriving at the next obstacle in an unbalanced fashion. If they over-control their speed, they risk a hiccup at quite a large oxer, which will do nothing to improve their morale as they approach a difficult four-star combination. Fence 7 is quite a big fence (3”11’ high and 5’6” wide) and must be ridden in a bold, attacking manner.

The landing is followed shortly by a 90-degree turn to the right and a quick transition to a show jumping speed canter in order to negotiate the Rails, Ditch and Squirrels at fences 8 and 9AB. Four-star courses typically test a horse’s straightness on both sides. At this combination, Mike has cleverly left the decision to the rider. If your horse tends to drift slightly to the left, you should jump the right-hand side of the Rails, Ditch and Squirrels in order to prevent a refusal. If your horse tends to drift to the right, you have the opportunity to go down the left-hand side of 8 and 9AB in order to help keep your horse straight. The rails at 8 are tall (3’9”), and the landing is quite steep. Riders must make sure they do not lose their balance but rather land with their leg on and then ride forward in one stride to the ditch, followed immediately by two forward strides out over the clever brush squirrels’ tails at 9AB. The experienced rider will quickly move forward into a high rate of speed as this is a slightly downhill departure from 8 and 9, leading past the permanent racecourse bleachers.

This galloping stretch is followed by a curving turn down to Fence 10. The Trakehner is imposing but should ride well. Remember the 90-degree, right-hand turn between fences 7 and 8? Here is the mirror image, now to the left between 10 (the Trakehner) and 11 (the Infield Water). Trakehners must be ridden at speed and in an aggressive manner. Water jumps must be ridden from a slow, powerful, balanced canter. The rider who can produce this judgment of pace will be able to present his horse to the Infield Water correctly. There is quite a drop behind 11A, followed by four slightly forward strides to a similar rolltop at 11B. While there is a “black-flag option” here, it would take forever, and I predict most of the horses and riders will go the fast way.

Horses and riders now have a long, uphill pull to the top of the racecourse, where they gallop through an opening in the fence line to a very straightforward Oxer at 12. It always amuses me that Mike refers to something 3’11” by 6’6” wide as easy. Most riders in the world would close their eyes and hold their breath when approaching such an obstacle, but the horses and riders here will use fence 12 as an opportunity to take a “breather.” 

The Sunken Road Approaches

The course now gallops across Mark’s Lane and heads out into the polo field, with a sweeping right-hand turn to 13ABCD, the Sunken Road. This combination is an old friend, and we have seen it jumped many years in both directions. The rails at 13A are quite tall and quite narrow. This enforces accuracy of presentation as well as judgment of pace. Landing behind the rails, riders take one stride, drop quietly into the sunken road, then two strides across the road, followed by quite a large bank out and one compressed stride before the bench at 13D. I mentioned earlier that Mike rarely uses compressed distances, however the distance between the lip of the bank and the bench is slightly short. Because the bench is at an angle, the rider is able to select the amount of room available. However, the farther the horse and rider move to the right, the greater risk of refusal because the bench is angled left to right away from the rider’s angle of approach.

I have always maintained that it is easier to control straightness in the horse when jumping down than it is when jumping up. I have a sneaking suspicion that Mike agrees with me, and this is the first of several uphill tests of accuracy that Mike will pose around this course. Following the Sunken Road, horses and riders gallop straight across the field to Fence 14, an imposing but user-friendly Cordwood pile. The only problem I see here is that the approach is slightly downhill.

A New Look At The Head Of The Lake

Following fence 14, there is a right-hand turn back across Marks Lane and down toward what promises to attract the largest crowd of the day, the Head of the Lake at 15ABC. The shape of the water jump has been redesigned in preparation for next year’s WEG. But the age-old problems of massive obstacles and water remain unchanged. The logs at 15A are followed by five forward strides to quite a large hedge at 15B. This hedge blocks the horse’s view of the water until the last stride, which tests the horse’s courage as well as his agility and jumping prowess. I expect a fair amount of turmoil when riders land in the Lake behind 15BT. This will complicate their efforts to make a five-stride, right-hand bending turn to a white flag corner in the water. This corner is not enormous, but the ramifications of jumping a white flag corner from a right-hand turn are obvious. I expect a fair number of glance-offs here. The fast route continues back on a generally right-hand bending line.

Riders must be very accurate in their presentation to the Step Out Of Water at 16. Once again, riders are presented with the option of adjusting the distance remaining for their horse between the step and No. 17, the Cedar Brush.  This is because the Cedar Brush is at a left-to-right angle to the bank at 16. Unlike the distance at fence 13CD, where the riders had enough room to produce a shuffle stride, the distance here between 16 and 17 is a bounce. As with the corner in the water at 15C, I expect a fair amount of grief here. The course designer has shown his understanding of the rules by numbering the step out of water and the cedar brush separately, which allows riders to jump them one at a time in order to avoid penalty. Riders in difficulty at fence 15 would be well advised to examine some of the easier “black flag” options available to them in this complex.

An enormous roar will greet the successful riders as they gallop across Marks Lane again, heading away from the Head of the Lake. The galloping lane proceeds uphill along the campgrounds service road, and for the first time horses and riders will jump the Log Cabins at 18 and 19 uphill. The cabins are quite narrow, but I expect most of the horses and riders to gallop through this complex taking four forward strides between the two cabins and galloping down the hill toward the Sheep Shelter (fence 20). Still another trend that I think I notice in Mike’s design is that he has built several obstacles on slightly declining ground. This is a subtle shift, but it can be quite meaningful if the rider is not judicious in his sense of pace and carefully attuned to his horse’s balance at the point of takeoff.

Fences such as this are a good place to have a bad jump. The landing is significantly lower than the takeoff, and a little bit of old-fashioned, back seat riding is well advised here.

On To The Hollow

Riders now gallop up the hill to fence 21ABCD, the Hollow, located at the east end of the course. The sycamore log at 21A is quite large, with a very steep drop behind. Riders land on the slope with long reins. Eight strides later they must have their reins back in order to jump the first of two quite large Kentucky limestone steps with a bounce in between. The second step is followed immediately by one forward stride to a narrow cabin at the top of the hollow. If you think back, you will notice that the bench at 13D and the Cedar Hedge at 17 invite the horse to run out to the right. Horses with a counterfeit left shoulder will be severely tested here, as will riders who are unable to jump up and remain straight at the same time.

Turning back to the main course, riders gallop downhill toward a combination that was here last year, 22ABCD, the Double Diamonds. Just as last year, the rider has a choice of jumping an in-and-out of white flag corners or alternatively jumping an in-and-out of red flag corners. However the rider chooses to approach this combination, there should be two forward strides between the two obstacles.

Accelerating again, riders will be going a good gallop to fence 23, the Keepers Brush. This is one of the biggest fences on course but should ride well for the majority of competitors.

A slight uphill run brings us to fence 24, the Tobacco Stripping Bench. This obstacle is quite large and would usually cause no trouble, however the horses and riders can be forgiven for showing a little fatigue at this point. I think a crafty rider will get a good evaluation of his horse’s remaining energies by the way he jumps this bench.

Crossing Marks Lane for the final time, riders gallop to obstacle 25ABCD, the HSBC FEI Classic Series Normandy Bank. I have watched this obstacle in years past. This is a plain vanilla presentation this year, if any four-star question can be referred to as plain vanilla. I do notice that riders must achieve the correct pace and balance and length of stride in the approach. Approach too fast, and horses make an awkward effort over the rail at the top of the Normandy Bank. Come too slow, and horses scramble up the step or attempt to turn a 10-foot bounce distance into a one-stride scramble. Either miscalculation will result in a glance-off at 25CD, the triple brush.

As he usually does in his combinations, Mike has made clever use of black flag options here, which I’m sure tired horses and riders will utilize. At this point, horses and riders are over ¾ of the way around the course, however there is still some serious jumping in their immediate future.

The Wattle And Daub Cottage at fence 26 is followed quickly by two offset brushes set two strides apart on a left to right angle. I referred to this general problem earlier. The question at fences 7 and 8 was based on a right-hand turn, and now riders must bend left after the Cottage and be very accurate in their approach. The risk of a runout to the right is very high, and it may well be that some rookie with a clean and fast round up to this point will come unstuck here through inattention to detail. They say there is a dandelion in the Kentucky Horse Park for every broken heart at Rolex. My guess is that there will be a bumper crop of dandelions here next year. The last two fences, No. 29 the Burning Bush and No. 30, the Blooming Bonanza, are large but designed to leave horses and riders jumping in a good rhythm and encouraged by the sight of the finish line shortly behind the 30th.

The course this year has 30 numbered obstacles with about 45 jumping efforts. Any horse and rider combination that can gallop through the finish line in 11 minutes or less will truly have shown themselves to be among the best in the world.